Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

According to the Associated Press, Specter has flip-flopped, two years ago having been the only Republican to support the proposed labor-endorsed legislation.

Specters position is important because organized labor was expecting Specter to be the crucial 60th vote needed to overcome an expected GOP filibuster of the measure when it is considered by the entire Senate this summer.

In fact, Specter was the lone Republican voting to halt a filibuster on the issue by his fellow Republicans in 2007, but the 60 votes could not then be mustered and the bill was not voted upon in the Senate.

This year, organized labor and their friends in the Senate see the vote much closer, and Specter as the crucial 60th vote to halt a filibuster and permit the Employee Free Choice Act to be voted upon - and passage then is expected by a simple majority vote.

Specter acknowledges that organized labor is "looking to this legislation to reverse the steep decline in union membership.

"In seeking more union membership and negotiating leverage, labor has a valid point that they have suffered greatly from outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries and losses in pension and health benefits," he said.

President Obama has pressed labor's argument that the middle class needs to be strengthened through more power to unions in their negotiations with business.

Specter could change his position again, but it will require substantial pressure by voters in Pennsylvania.

To send Sen. Specter a message asking him not to allow anti-union Republicans to filibuster the Employee Free Choice Act to death, and allow the entire Senate, representing the American people, to vote on the bill, you can do the following:

Send Sen. Specter an e-mail by clicking here.

Call Sen. Specters Washington office at (202) 224-4254 and politely voice your request that he change his position and vote against a filibuster to permit the Employee Free Choice Act to be voted upon by the entire Senate.

The AFL-CIO provides eight reasons why the Employee Free Choice Act should be enacted into law by Congress:

1) The Employee Free Choice Act will give working people the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively, helping to rebuild Americas middle class. Union members are 52 percent more likely to have job-provided health care, nearly three times more likely to have guaranteed pensions and early 28 percent more than nonunion workers.

2) American workers want to form unions. Research shows 60 million workers would form a union tomorrow if given the chance.

3) Too few workers are able to form unions and bargain because employers routinely block their efforts.

4) CEOs wouldnt work a day without contracts to protect their pay and perks. But they routinely deny workers the same opportunity.

5) The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers, not employers, to choose whether and how they want to form a union.

6) The Employee Free Choice Act has widespread bipartisan support in Congress and President Obama has pledged to sign it into law.

7) Corporate front groups have mounted a massive campaign to block the Employee Free Choice Act. As former Walmart CEO Lee Scott said, "We like driving the car and were not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us."

8) Majority sign up, as will be provided by the Employee Free Choice Act, is a long-established way to form a union, but is currently denied workers by existing law and court rulings.